Mapping Conflict Motives in War Areas

Tackling a problem starts with a complete understanding of it. In order to resolve wars, we need to understand what drives them. Therefore IPIS has launched a research project funded by the EU and the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to develop a research tool that should make it easier to analyse and discuss war motives in conflict areas. The most distinguishing feature of the analytic tool is a collection of maps. Maps are a verifiable and unambiguous source of information. When made with sufficient care, they are an ideal source for an objective analysis. Over the last years, the work on conflict mapping has evolved into a full-fledged research programme.

The tool

How the research tool is conceived is explained in a methodological handbook. The handbook compiles insights from a wide range of scientific literature and is a sincere effort to work in an interdisciplinary way on the issue of war motivation. It contains an overview of the current literature on the causes and drivers of war and explains how the geographic tool should be applied.
The handbook is still a work in progress. The version currently published on the website will be expanded and changed throughout the course of the project.